Washington state see's a drop in health ranking

YAKIMA, Wash.-- The United Health Foundation has released their annual rankings of the healthiest states, and Washington did not do so well.

WA state fell from 11th to 15th in the recent rankings, the state's worst showing since 2007.

Now some health experts are concerned about the well being of people here.

The Washington Health Foundation has been working on a campaign to get the state to the number one ranking, and in recent years we've broken the top ten but this, they say, is a major set-back..

WHF President, Greg Vigdor says they weren't surprised by the drop though. The struggling economy and high unemployment rate play a part in the drop, but other factors also play a big role.

"High school graduation rates where we're 38Th in the nation and like what we would call use of proven preventative clinical care. Things like prenatal care and immunizations where we are also in the 30's," said Vigdor.

A number 15 ranking in the country for Washington isn't terrible though.

With a low rate of smoking and diabetes, and preventable hospital visits, things are still looking good.

The northeast part of the U.S. has 6 of 10 healthiest states in the country. Number one, Vermont.